St. Joseph Church Homilies

Again, I welcome all of you back into our church. It was a great surprise for me when the Provincial reopening plan was adjusted to allow our church to open at stage one. It’s been wonderful to celebrate with you outside over the last five weekends and the fact that we always had good weather is, I think, a true sign of God’s presence with us, but our beautiful church is a much better place to worship and it’s starting to get hot out.

I’d like to announce that our parish finance advisory committee has released the twenty-twenty stewardship report. It’s available on our website, so feel free to take a look. Later this month, a more detailed report will be available. The report highlights some of the challenges the pandemic has created for our parish and how we’ve responded. I’m proud to say, that thanks to a great finance advisory team and your generosity, we’ve ensured that our parish has remained a place of prayer, worship and service in every way permitted. Almost every day, giving envelopes and offerings appear through the mail slot and many have signed up for eGive automatic giving and that’s been incredibly helpful.

During the challenges of the pandemic, employment was maintained for our valued staff. Children prepared for and received Sacraments, those in need were fed and even clothed. Outreach has continued by phone, online and recently even radio. There’s lots to be proud of thanks to the help of so many. So, thank you.

But there’s some big challenges ahead too. I’m usually critical of our government, but truth-be-told, their financial assistance, which will come to an end soon, has been invaluable for our parish during the last year. So, we will need the offertory to increase. Now, I’m not outright asking for you to increase your giving; I know this is a challenging time for many and how the cost of many things is going up. Really, what would help most is more people. After all, our parish isn’t about money but worship and service; and as things begin to open up, as more get vaccinated, our parish will need lots of disciples to help live out the mission. This past week, one of the retirement residences told me that we can begin celebrating Mass there once our priests are fully vaccinated; that’s some great news and I look forward to starting up all our great groups and ministries once again.

However, I do think it’s good for each person to occasionally examine their giving too. We give, not just to support our parish, but as part of our worship; and worship is never something casual and accidental but deliberate and thought out just as picking out a gift for a loved one is. The stewardship report is a great opportunity to reflect on our giving and the third page does give some guidance. Of course, neither I nor God want anyone to starve or lose their home in order to give, and everyone’s situation is different but a suggested starting point is an hour of wages. I’d just like to also add, that if your income has increased, so too should your giving.

The last page of the report has a summary of some measurable fruits of our pastoral efforts too. There, you can see a list of our groups and ministries (I hope none have been missed) and even get an idea of how many Baptisms, First Communions and Confirmations were celebrated in this space last year. This is just an incredibly brief summary of how the offerings we receive are used to build up our church.

On a more sensitive topic, I’ve had a number of parents approach me with some concerns about a discussion taking place in many Catholic school boards, including our own. A question has been raised about if our schools should fly the pride flag in June. Now, it’s a question that deserves a response much bigger than anything I could deliver in a ten-minute homily. But I will say a couple of things. First,

The discovery of undocumented remains of over two hundred children on the grounds of a former residential school in British Columbia has undoubtedly weighed heavily on our minds and hearts over the last week. The has put a number to it, something measurable, two hundred and fifteen young lives. We already knew that the whole idea of the residential school system resulted in grave mistreatments for many indigenous children in Canada, an embarrassing part of the history of our nation and church. This number has helped open our eyes to see just how horribly wrong things actually were. There is no excuse, no dismissal or justification for what went on.

As part of a response, our bishop has asked that a letter be read out at every Mass this weekend. The letter reads:

Read the bishop’s letter

For me, something that hurts most is how the lives and deaths of those children went unrecorded. We belong to a Church that unapologetically professes the sanctity of each human life, even to the point of putting our faith at odds with many values found in the world. It’s so important to us that pastors promise to keep full and accurate records of every death and the bishop does check that this is done. Clearly, the lives of children in at least one residential school were not treated as sacred or given the dignity they deserved. Many of you have reached out to me also hurting, wondering about what is to be done. Lots of words and prayers over the whole tragedy of residential schools have been offered, but now what?

A great answer can be found in today’s feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. At the Last Supper, while revealing how simple bread and wine would truly become his Body and Blood, soul, divinity and continual presence, Jesus also shared why he instituted that Sacrament. To his disciples, our Lord says, “…[his Body and Blood is] poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.” The Body and Blood of Christ, the Eucharist, is about the forgiveness of sins, it’s about Reconciliation.

Even though perhaps none of us have any direct connection to the residential school system, we want reconciliation, we want penance for the failures of the past, actions that make up for harm done and set us down a new path. We also want contrition, remorse, apology and a promise to do better in the future. I’d like to suggest though, that maybe we’re not at that point yet.

Reconciliation is a process and while contrition and penance are needed, prior to that is the work of examining a conscience. This is the stage we’re in now. The work of examination started only when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission presented its recommendations thirteen years ago and in that time we’ve only scratched the surface of the story. The finding of the remains of those children in British Columbia reveals to us how deep and long the story is. It’s prompted further investigations that will undoubtedly reveal even more. The story of the residential school system is about as old as our nation and it may take just as long before the process of reconciliation over this tragedy can be concluded. With something so complex, harmful and deep, there are no shortcuts or easy fixes.

Alright, so we’re in a period of examination. What can we do to assist while in this stage? At our parish here, we’re starting with a few things:

First, till the weekend after Canada Day, we will remember those children whose remains were discovered last week in the prayers of the faithful each weekend. Prayers for these children are long overdue.

Also, since December,

At a confirmation an arch bishop asked the children for the meaning of the Holy Trinity .A girl answered very softly. The Holy Trinity is three Persons in One God. The arch bishop who was using a hearing aid replied I didn’t understand what you said and the girl replied you are not supposed to : the Trinity is a mystery. Any religion without a mystery is a religion without God, because God is a mystery.

Our World is filled with mysteries. What Isaac Newton said in the  18th century is true in the 21st century “what we know is a drop and what we don’t know is an ocean”. Our life is a faint tracing on the surface of mystery .The scientists estimate that the 90% of the cosmos is a mystery. We live with mystery very comfortably. Catholics are not afraid of mysteries because we have so many mysteries in the Catholic faith: mystery of the Holy Eucharist. In rosary we contemplate five mysteries. Mysteries are meant to be belived,lived and proclaimed.

The Old Testament didn’t make explicit expression of Trinity of Persons. Although they applied Words that are suggestive of the Trinity of Persons, for e.g. let us create man in our own image . But the New Testament employed the concept of Trinity of Persons. Hence  baptise them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and Holy Spirit. The study of these words shows how the revelation of God in New Testament is advanced beyond the revelation of God in the Old Testament.

Friends the solemnity of Trinity is meant to call our attention to the nature of God and not to understand Him. This is because the finite mind cannot comprehend the infinite God. Job says who can fathom the mysteries of God. How deep are the riches, wisdom and knowledge of God, impossible to penetrate his motives or understand his method, who could ever know the mind of God. For the philosophers God is the Absolute Principle, the unmoved Mover. For Isaac Newton He is the Architect of the World. The master planner.

Experts in religion tell us that people always tend to live like the God they worship. People who worship a warrior God tend to live like warriors. People who worship a God of wrath tend to be angry people. What does the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity tells us about the kind of God we worship and what does this say about the type of people we should be? And here I have two points to share with you. First the mystery of Trinity is that God is a community of three Persons, and that  God exists in  a relationships. Community is something we pay a great deal of attention. God’s existence in relationship stands  as a model for how we should view our connectedness. God doesn’t exist in isolated individualism but in a community of relationship. This means that a Christian in search for Godliness must shun every tendency to isolationism and individualism. The ideal Christian spirituality is not that of flight from the world or away from contact with other people or society.

Second, true love, we see in the Blessed Trinity mutual love. We live Trinitarian life when we love and it takes three to love:God,self and others. Each one of us becomes fully human only when we are in relationship with God and others. Then we will discover that I and God principle preached and practised by many leaves with nothing to be desired. The doctrine of the Blessed Trinity challenges us to adopt rather I and God and neighbour principle. I am a Christian insofar I live in a relationship of love with God and other people.

May the grace of the Holy Trinity help us to banish all traces of selfishness in our lives and live in love of God and of our neighbour.

This past winter, I got a bunch of calls from parents who, wanting the best for their children and recognizing the very real gifts our schools offer, wished to enroll their children in a Catholic school for September. They encountered a problem though when neither they nor their children were Baptized in a Catholic Church. Of course, when our schools have room, they graciously open their doors to all and that’s wonderful. But when they’re full, as they’re expected to be this fall, preference is given to Catholic families and others are put on a waiting list. The hope some parents had was that I might make an exception to the enrolment requirements of our schools, but I don’t have that kind of sway and to be honest, I’m happy to leave the task of enforcing school enrolment requirements with those who wonderfully administer our schools.

But, when speaking with these frustrated parents I’d ask, “why should a Catholic school admit the child of a non-Catholic family?” and to this I got the same answer every time, “because we believe in God, teach our children Christian values and the importance of being kind to others.” While those are all good things for parents to offer their children, there is one thing missing, the one requirement our schools are looking for: membership in our Church.

I suppose it brings up a great question, “is Church important?” I think it’s a great question to ask in this time when our participation in the life of our Church has been challenged by the pandemic. When asking “Is Church important?” I’m not talking about church buildings. Our buildings are important in their own way but, especially in this past year, we’ve all experienced Church beyond the building. I think an answer to the question can be found in one of our teachings about the Church. We profess that there are four ‘marks’ or ‘signs’ for our Church. When we see these four marks, that’s where church is.

So, first we profess that our Church is one; it’s about unity. There’s so much in our world that divides people. There’s no need to look far to find conflict. All it takes in an election or for someone to talk about vaccines or the necessity of masks and divides quickly appear. Of course, discussing different viewpoints is healthy and often necessary for finding truth. But divides, language that pits us against them: that goes against love and is not the work of our Church. Our world needs the Church because the world needs unity, efforts to overcome all those powers that work to divide. Professing the unity of our church proclaims our belief that divides do not have to part of life.

We also profess that our Church is holy, and I don’t mean that all the members of our Church are holy. Today we celebrate the feast of Pentecost which is often considered the birth of our Church. Now, I personally think the Church was born well before Pentecost, when Jesus told St. Peter that he would establish the Church on the saint and would entrust to him the Keys of the Kingdom. But Pentecost is what gives life to our Church.

We profess that our Church is guided, not by the whims of fallen people but by the Holy Spirit. The lives of saints, the development of the Creed and the establishment of the Bible are all signs of the Holy Spirit at work. We need the Church because we need to know that despite the many failings of each and every person, there is a place in our world where we can count on the presence of God. I may be extremely faulty and sinful, filled with all kinds of shortcomings. But, so long as I do what our church asks in our celebration here today, we know beyond doubt, that our time here as Church is holy.

We profess that our Church is Catholic or universal, that it’s for everyone. We proclaim that the faith we hold and the salvation offered by Jesus is not to be hoarded or kept...

     Rev. Billy Graham arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. Wanting to mail a letter ,he asked a young boy where the post office was. When the boy told him, he thanked him and said ‘’if you would come this evening to the Baptist Church you can hear me telling everyone how to go heaven’ ’I don’t think i will be there the boy said. You don’t even know the way to post office.

      After the resurrection, Jesus made a few celebrated appearances and then left town for good. We call this departure the Ascension, the feast we are celebrating today. Ascension and Christmas are closely related in meaning. At Christmas the human and Divine united in the person and life of one man.At Ascension the resurrected body of Jesus becomes for all eternity part of who God is. So it is no longer business as usual. He now acts in the capacity of God and no longer limited by space and time. However God is not an absentee landlord or created  created the world and stepped away. Rather is involved in the world, he cares about what happens in the world especially about human beings. He ascended but He is still present with us. Hence his promise l am with you till the end of the World.                                                                                                            Upon Jesus ‘arrive in heaven, a vast host of Angeles greeted him. After the formalities, they wanted to know whom He had left behind on earth to finish the work he had begun. Jesus replied, I have commissioned a group of men and women who love me. Is that all? the angels asked astonished, what if this tiny group should fail? Jesus replied I have no other plans.

    The feast of ascension reminds us of eternal destiny of man.God created out of nothing three levels of beings: first the angels who are pure spirits, second purely material, such as water, trees and thirdly man who is composed of matter and spirit. The reality of Spiritual is one the least understood facts of life, among the society . Yet it can be proved. If you are capable of doing spiritual things ,that is, things that merely material beings can’t do, it follows that your are spiritual. The spiritual capabilities that proves we are spiritual are abstraction and reflection. If human soul were a material substance, we could only think material thought, we could only have what is called a sense knowledge. We could only know that a fruit is red but we can’t think about redness in the abstracts . Pauls tells us that our home land is in heaven and Christ says where I am my servant shall also be. Therefore as we anchor our hope on the above let us live and behave as people on a journey to our eternal home which is the kingdom of God.

      Jesus before he ascended into heaven, he commissioned his disciples to make disciples of all nations and teach them to follow his commandment of love. Ever since the Church received this mandate, the Church is never tired of making know to the whole world the beauty of the Gospel as she preaches  Jesus Christ, true God and true man.Evangeliation means proclaiming Christ. Indeed there is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the kingdom and the mystery of Jesus Nazareth is not proclaimed.

In the Gospel last week, Jesus used the image of a vine and branches to describe how we are to be and remain always connected to him. Being connected to Jesus isn’t something that happens accidently, but takes deliberate effort and, indeed, following his commandments is hard work. We long to be connected to our Lord though because only through him do we bear the fruit expected by the Father. We care to abide with him because our Saviour is the source of life. We desire to remain connected to the vine because Jesus promised, “Ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”[1] A similar promise is made in today’s Gospel; our Lord said, “…I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.”[2]These are incredible promises and it’s easy to imagine how life would be different if we knew all the prayers we offer up were heard and answered in our favour.

While growing up, our family had this dog, a great dog, though with a few bad habits. She loved going outside but hated being on a leash. She loved to steal chocolate though it’s supposed to be bad for dogs along with all the food she begged for each night as we ate dinner. If she prayed, I’m sure she prayed for the elimination of all fences and leashes, for kibble to become chocolate and for justice so she would have the right to sit at the dinner table with us each night. This dog may have thought she knew what was best for her, what would bring her happiness, but she didn’t really. Out of love, her owners had to repeatedly deny her many of the things she wanted and I know it frustrated her.

Next to the Sacraments, prayer, a good habit of prayer, is the way to remain connected to Jesus, the vine. However, prayer can also be a frustrating obstacle for us. We’ve all had the sometimes truly painful experience of prayers that seem to go unanswered. Knowing God has power over all things, many have prayed for a loved one to be healed of a serious illness only to be sincerely disappointed when healing wasn’t granted. Some have prayed for reconciliation in a marriage or another important relationship only to have it fall apart. I know of parents who pray that their children would have an encounter with God and turn to him but the more they pray the greater their children seem to drift from the faith they were raised in. The number of prayers that have gone up for peace or an end to poverty or for justice must be unimaginable, yet we still endure those evils. These are all good prayers and when they seem to go unanswered it’s easy to wonder why, while feeling hurt, frustrated, angry or abandoned.

Now ultimately, many of God’s ways will always remain a mystery for us in this life since his wisdom greatly exceeds our own. But that doesn’t mean we can’t reflect on this experience of unanswered prayer, explore why prayers seem to go unanswered and consider what we might do when this happens.

I think the best short answer, the reason that many of our prayers seem to go unanswered, is simply that we aren’t yet in heaven. Remember, God’s big plan for us isn’t eternity here, but for eternity in heaven and when compared to the eternal joys of heaven, our time here, even all our combined suffering, is tiny in comparison to an eternity of joy. But it’s too often too easy to pray as though this life here is all there is; we forget that heaven is the answer to our prayers.

It’s easy to spend more time praying for a new or better job while forgetting to ask for the gift of faith. It’s easy to beg for healing for ourselves or another while forgetting to ask for the strength needed to serve. It’s easy to lament over climate change,

Over the last year, I’ve been so impressed by and grateful for those who have worked through all the challenges the pandemic has presented. The contributions of so many have made it possible for us to stream the Mass each week and in so many other ways ensured that our church remains a place of unity, service and prayer.

Several families have been searching and testing for the best way to collectively pray together online and thanks to their efforts, it’s now possible for anyone to pray with others from home. Beginning this week, people can pray together the Chaplet of Divine Mercy on Friday evenings and the Devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on Wednesday evenings. For now, these devotions will be observed through Google Meet and the invite can be found in the calendar on our website and in the eBulletin.

Even better news though: Next weekend, those who wish can join us in person for a drive-in Mass at nine and eleven on Sunday. It’s going to be great. Kelly will play for us, Communion will be distributed and everyone can participate from the safety of their own vehicles; it will even be possible to listen through the radio. Those joining will follow the directions of our hospitality ministers who will make sure vehicles park two meters apart. Participants will need to remain in their vehicles and washrooms won’t be available. Those coming can roll down the windows but should wear a mask while the windows are down. The Knights of Columbus are setting up a tent too, so we can celebrate in the parking lot even if it’s raining. There’s no need to register in advance or provide contact tracing details. Oh yeah, a collection will also be taken up, so do be ready for that.

These practices: praying various devotions together online or celebrating Mass in the parking lot, are not the usual or preferred way we worship and the compromises are certainly not ideal. But we do these things anyway because through them we are connected, to one another to God. Really, it’s one way we strive to fulfill the commandment Jesus gives in today’s Gospel to abide in him always. He describes what our relationship with him ought to be like. “I am the vine,” he says, “…and you are the branches”.[1] This simple analogy reveals how important it is to remain connected to him if we are to truly live and bear the expected fruit of God.

“Ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”[2] That’s a pretty big reward promised by Our Lord and a great prompt to reflect on how we, the branches, can be and remain connected to Jesus, the vine. I think a great place to start could be in the psalm for today. There’s a few key words there that give great guidance.

“Those who seek him shall praise the Lord.”[3], the psalm says. Indeed, there’s many mysteries in our faith, but that doesn’t make it foolish. Our response to mystery is never to run or dismiss but to seek; and even if answers are never found in this life, the act of seeking connects us to God. After all, he is the maker and sustainer of all; if any answers to his mysteries are to be ever found, we must seek him. We seek God through our service to others and in our prayer. 

“All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord.”[4] In challenging times it’s easy to forget all the gifts God has given and instead get hung up on the challenges that confront us. Creation, life, faith, love: these often surpass anything we could imagine; they’re signs that these gifts didn’t come from ourselves; they were given.

The Jews were  a pastoral people, and it was only natural that their literature ‘’Old Testament Books’’ have many references to pastoral life. Our Lord and his Apostles continued in this tradition and used the pastoral images familiar to their hearers to illustrate to them the spiritual truths about Christianity. Today is traditionally called Good Shepherd Sunday because on fourth Sunday of every Easter the Gospel reading is taken from John chapter 10,where Christ identifies himself as a Good Shepherd.

One of the most favoured images of Christ  in the early Church was that of Good Shepherd. This image appears several times in the paintings found in the Catacombs in Rome. Prominent among them was the image that represents him as a Shepherd carrying on his shoulders a wounded sheep. Perhaps one of the reasons why the image appealed to the Christians from the earliest times is because it conveyed something of personal nature and the relationship between Jesus and his followers. It also conveys a sense of close personal connection that the Shepherd has with his individual sheep. The metaphor Shepherd is used in Biblical sense to describe the Kings and civil leaders of Israel. This is because the patriarchs :Abraham,Jacob,Moses and David were all Shepherds. So much so that the people came to identify their Kings in shepherding role. However, most of their kings after David were opposite of good shepherd.

In today’s gospel reading Jesus presents himself as a Good Shepherd. He describes  a Good Shepherd as who lays down his life for his sheep in contrast to the hired man. The whole life of Jesus could be surmised as a life lived for the good of others.

The works of a shepherd is to lead ,protect and provide. Christ is a servant leader, who came not to be severed, but to server and gave his life as a ransom for many. He leads us through the Word and his Spirit dwelling in us. The Psalmist says your words Oh Lord is a step unto my feet and a lamp unto my steps. The Church is the custodian of  Christ’s message and as such we ought to listen to the Church  authorities in matters of faith and moral. No  doubt there are other voices in our World today clamouring for our attention, advocating for policies that oppose the natural and divine laws, offering us formula for  wealth and happiness. But true wealth and happiness are found in Jesus.

    Christ is our provider. The psalmist says the earth and all its fullness belongs to Lord. The Lord gives the earth to man to take care of. Hence to dominate means to make use of all created things for your benefit. He not only made provisions for our material needs ,but also for our spiritual needs by giving us sacraments for our nourishment especially the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

However, we play the role of shepherding not withstanding our various conditions and situations in life. Priests render pastoral services to the Church communities. Husbands to their wives and wives to their husbands and both to their children. Medical doctors and nurses to the sick, teachers to students etc. We ought to take care of  those entrusted to us, lavish them with love ,because love knows no bound and takes the risk of suffering for his beloved.                                                                       Our work as Christians is to try to help others find happiness in life. BY engaging ourselves in the lives of others in this way we show that we are truly ...

I know many are curious over how Friday’s announcement from our premiere will affect things here. Yes, some temporary changes are coming. After this weekend, the Sunday Mass will not be publicly celebrated. Instead, the church will be open Sunday Mornings from nine till noon with the Blessed Sacrament exposed for adoration and private prayer. Father Isaac and I will be here during those hours to hear confessions and ensure there are no more than ten people in the church at any time. Of course, Sunday Mass will be streamed at the usual scheduled times.

Daily Mass will continue as scheduled. But including the priest, only ten people can be present. We do need someone to be present at the doors of the church for each daily Mass, though, to help with sign in and if needed, let people know the church is full. Let me know if this is something you can help with.

The office will remain closed as our great staff works from home as much as possible. While phone messages left for Fr. Isaac or I are checked regularly, email will be the quickest way to get in touch with someone from the office. Many things, like signing up to prepare for a Sacrament, arranging a phone call or meeting with a priest or requesting a Mass intention can be done online.

Baptisms, Funerals and Weddings will still be celebrated, but with only up to ten people present. First Communions and Confirmations will be delayed though families can still prepare their children.

The parish hall still remains closed, though the food bank will continue to wonderfully serve our community as usual. I know many groups, like the Gospel reflection group, have made arrangements to meet online. Watch the eBulletin and website to keep aware of all that’s going on.

Those joining us in person will have to wear a mask and give contact tracing details. I’d also like to ask all who join us to be aware of those who might also like to join. If you’ve been to daily Mass or Adoration once in a week and the church becomes full, I hope you might graciously give up your place for someone who might not have been able to be present as recently.

I must admit, it is hard to be joyful today, knowing it could be a while before seeing all your faces together here. While praying for you, Father Isaac and I will also miss all of you. Though the challenges we’ve endured over the last year seem to drag on, thanks to God, I know it won’t last forever and we’ll be back together before long.

Indeed, lots has been taken from us. When meetings can only take place over the phone or on zoom, when gatherings are forbidden, classrooms are empty and it’s not acceptable to even shake someone’s hand, all we’re left with it seems, are words; and while words often seem small and insignificant, truth be told, words have power. Words shape thinking; they impact hearts and direct actions.

The right words can build up, encourage and set one up for success. Maybe you can think of some achievements in life that came about only because the right words were expressed. On the other hand, the wrong words tear down, deflate and undermine goodness. Who hasn’t been wounded, led to second guess their own value or ability or even given up because of the critical words of another? Words have a great influence on us.

The Gospel for today describes the disciples on first Easter night. Together, they gathered in fear, bewildered by what was going on. A few days earlier their leader had been killed and they worried they could be next. A couple had returned from the tomb after finding it empty. On top of that, a couple more came back from Emmaus late in the evening reporting that Jesus had broken bread at their dinner table.

Unexpectedly,

During the Easter Season, the church focuses on the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Therefore the first reading from the Old Testament is replaced with a reading from Acts which was written by Luke. When we read Luke’s words in Acts today, we have to marvel at the teaching of the Apostles, attesting to the life and resurrection of the Lord, which instilled such great faith in Christ’s followers. As a testament to this faith, we hear about a change in the followers living arrangements, their thinking, and their actions in regards to those less fortunate.  In those times, their society was pretty much a society, of every man and woman for themselves, with little respect or help, given to the poor and needy. Luke speaks about one of the first communes (long before the Hippies of our time), where the people not only lived together, but sold their assets and gave the money to the Apostles, to distribute to the poor and suffering as the Apostles saw the need. This tells us right from the beginning, the Apostles and followers believed in Christ’s message. In order for us to be true Christians, there must be a connection between the rich and the poor. We know that today the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. We also know over the last few years, there are less and less people are attending all churches.  One has to wonder if there is not a direct correlation, between the more secular our society becomes, the more the poor get poorer. Many of the rich say, “I don’t need, or want anybody influencing my life”, and therefore they don’t ever start or they stop attending their local churches. On the other hand, I read an article this week which saddened me. The article spoke about American Conservative Catholic philanthropists and pro-life leaders are key players behind efforts to limit voter access in a number of states. Such suppression is meant to obstruct the right to vote for economically marginalized populations and racial minorities for years to come. The article also mentioned in Georgia, a number of Catholic-led organizations and donors have pumped millions of dollars into voter suppression efforts under the banner of “election integrity.”

These actions will only enable the rich to have more control over the poor. Our Pope, Francis has expressed his concern with this situation and has reminded all of us many times, to not forget the poor and needy. The surplus of the rich must help to alleviate the poverty of the poor.

In our second reading we continue with the same theme, “for the love of God is this, that we 

Obey his commandments.” John is basically focusing in on what Mathew spoke of, when Christ was asked, what is the greatest commandment? Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ We may say to ourselves that we love God, but without showing true love for our neighbour, we are only kidding ourselves. In order to show God our love and faith we must also follow Christ’s example of love, for all of our neighbours. God is love, and therefore to have a share in the life of God we have to love others as he loves them.

The evangelist John, who’s Gospel is called, “The Gospel of Love”, says, “Our Faith is the victory that conquers the world.”  The faith John is speaking about is our belief, that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, that He is the Son of God, that he was truly human, and that he rose from the dead to bring an end to death.  As Fr. Craig mentioned on Easter Sunday, these are the four cornerstones of our Christian faith. 

In the Gospel, we begin with Jesus entering the room where the disciples are hiding from the Jewish authorities. Jesus is there,